Yet another use for a Dumpster : An alternate escape route
by Andysaurus
Summary: Based on an alternative key decision made in the film; Queenan should have escaped with Billy down the fire escape.
1. Chapter 1

Hiding in the dumpster was hardly a good option, but it was the only one, Billy reflected as Queenan tried to contact Dignam. So far at least, Billy having second thoughts about allowing Queenan to act as a human shield was paying off. They might even have made it out on to the open road, but the gang would have left guards at the entrance, and those in the building might have realised what had happened and decided to return to the entrance.

Billy suspected that although some the gang had reached the roof in the lift while the rest of the gang had come up the stairs to just a floor below, it must have taken them some time to figure out that their prey was not in the upper three floors. By this time he and Queenan had reached the ground and run around the side of the building. He had then spotted the dumpster. Billy had jumped inside, pulling Queenan up afterwards; fortunately it was only half full with contractors dry waste.

Being inside a dumpster might not be good for reception, but Queenan had now made contact with Dignam. Fortunately, Dignam was now near to the surveillance radio operator. Pushing the operator aside, Dignam ordered the surveillance team to protect Queenan in the dumpster outside the building. The surveillance team had already downed the guard that the gang had left with the cars and had charged inside, so they needed Dignam's message repeating before they were willing to break of and go back outside.

Sullivan had desperately texted Costello to abort, but Costello's attempts to contact the gang did no good. However, the shoot-out with the downstairs guards had distracted the gang, who now decided to exit the building as fast as they could, taking the injured guard with them.

Dignum had also requested backup, but by the time they arrived the gang was long gone. The backup team found the surveillance team with Billy and Queenan at the dumpster. Queenan had now grasped the situation, and told Dignam to find out the names of all cops involved in the surveillance operation, or who had been in close proximity. That included Sullivan and his hangers on.

Queenan also told Dignam to "roast Sullivan over a slow fire" in order to get the name of his "source", and to get an emergency ID for Bill in the pipeline. Queenan placed little faith in the value of Sullivan's source, while Billy placed little faith in either Sullivan or a source of what was probably Costello misinformation. But how could Costello be certain that Sullivan would take the bait, unless ...

The remainder of the ride back to SIU headquarters was a relief to Billy, though lack of a clean extraction was bound to cause him security issues. Queenan was in a fury with the damage that the mole was doing, now the mole was compromising undercover operations. Sullivan's stupidity was going to result in him receiving some real stick.


	2. Chapter 2

Once back at SIU things got very heated. Sullivan seemed to have a plausible excuse for everything that he had done, while the explanation of his 'source' seemed both meaningful and empty; Sullivan was just too Mister Squeaky Clean for Billy, and when Sullivan made Dignum style insinuations about Billy's comments being those a worthless crook, the pair came to blows. Queenan gave strict orders that the two were not to converse with each other and qualified this by then saying that only he and Dignam could give Billy orders. That perplexed Sullivan as so far no mention had been made in his presence of Billy's exact status. While Ellerby didn't seem to like Billy, he gave Sullivan little in the way of moral support - probably he was thinking about how badly Sullivan's actions could have backfired, losing the undercover in Costello's gang was bad enough. Had he promoted Sullivan too soon?

Back in Queenan's office, Dignum confided to them that he had seen Sullivan doing illegal texting during the joint FBI SIU operation five months back. He also warned them that Sullivan and Barrigan were close mates, and both had risen together even though Barrigan was non too bright. The other key operative in their group was Brown who seemed non too sharp - Billy knew this to be true, although he knew that Brown was far from stupid. Dignum did not know what to make of Brown's relationship with Sullivan, other than of the group's "office boy".

After this, while Dignum continued to find out who else might have known about the surveillance operation, Queenan reinstated Billy and released his back pay, although it would take several days to get Billy's probation lifted; until then Billy could not be issued with a police badge, just an SIU id. But at least people would now know that Billy was an SIU employee, effectively on suspension.

Queenan also realised that until the mole problem was removed, besides Dignam, Billy was perhaps the only operative that he could totally trust. This was unfortunate since while Queenen, and Dignam, knew that Billy was good, Billy lacked any knowledge of policing reality and how the SIU worked. This was why Billy's idea about flushing the mole out with fake information was never an option. Billy was a fast learner, but would be operating under a real handicap. The next problem was Billy's safety.


	3. Chapter 3

For the time being, Queenan had decided that Billy should move in with him and his wife; the SIU could spare a couple of cops to watch the house for a few days. Boring basic special police work that someone trustworthy and reliable like Billy was needed for, but which would be a complete waste of Billy's abilities, and drive him out of the force.

Also, Queenen reflected after dinner, as he had seen on the tower roof, Billy was now a bag of nerves under his hard hostile exterior. Queenan, like Dignum, had realised from the start that Billy was not the hard guy his persona projected, but an intelligent, sensitive, and very accomplished actor. Still, Billy would mend. Just because Queenan didn't think that Billy could ever be a standard cop didn't mean that Billy couldn't fit within the SIU; he needed to put Billy's brain to work on dealing with the mole, otherwise the SIU was completely fucked.

In the meantime Billy had been reviewing events and considering options. This fiasco did not just affect himself, although he could live with the loss of his bonus, and maybe he could even gain some street cred with Maddy now. But he had failed as an undercover cop, even though it was not his fault. Costello must be over the moon.

However, on the bright side, the fiasco may have forced Costello's mole to show his hand. If the false allegation really had come from a source, then maybe it could be traced back to Costello and exploited. But if it came from a source and the mole was expected to exploit it's results, then Dignam's list could yield dividends once some in-depth background checking was done. Maybe they could match up the staffing operations lists with the cases known where the mole had warned Costello? But if it really came from the mole then it should lead to Sullivan and he could be put under close observation, reducing his value to Costello. But again, how could Costello be certain that Sullivan would take the bait, unless the source and the mole were one and the same? And that triggered a brain wave; Costello sold people to the FBI!


	4. Chapter 4

Striking while the iron was hot was probably the best option. The next morning Billy guided a small team of cops picked by Dignam for their "bluntness" and willingness to look the other way to the house of the drug addict and pusher who a few months ago had "told" Billy about Costello's unscrupulous FBI deals. Like before, Billy had no stomach for hurting the guy in order to get information; that's what the others were for. They discretely made their way to the back of the house.

Bursting in, Billy introduced his police companions, and urged the addict to tell them what he knew. The addict remembered Billy's last visit, so little persuasion was required once Billy threatened to have him arrested - which would be very bad for his drug business - and told him that his name would never be mentioned. The "interview" details were to be kept very much under lock and key.

In the end the addict provided them with a number of names and contacts, although some details were vague and all would need following up. There were also some details that once investigated should give them details about deals that Costello would rather not be known by rival gangs, not that the SIU would want a war of revenge between the Costello's Irish mob and the likes of the Providence Mafia.

Back at the SIU, Queenan's decide that it should only take a couple of days to verify the alleged cases of crooks being sold to the FBI, and a week to follow up on the other stuff. Once even one case was verified, they could tell Ellerby about it and start spreading the dirt on Costello around the SIU. Sullivan, or any other mole, should then be in for a worrying time.


End file.
